FATA Situation

[ejaz007]

Expel Taliban or face action, govt tells Mohmand tribes
* Security forces pound Taliban hideouts in Machni
* Taliban claim responsibility for Charsadda suicide attack
* Security forces arrest 15 suspects in Machni, Haleemzai
By Mukarram Khan

GHALANAI: The political administration warned the Mohmand tribes on Thursday of imminent military operation if they did not sever ties with local and foreign Taliban.

It also asked Taliban to lay down weapons and surrender, officials told Daily Times.

“We warn the Mohmand tribes to sever ties with Tehreek-e-Taliban’s Abdul Wali group as the government is planning action against the group,” the Mohmand Agency administration warned the population in pamphlets. “Get all elements of Abdul Wali group out of your homes, otherwise they will be targeted by helicopters and jet bombers.” The warning comes as 50 percent of the population in Machni area left their homes following a troop build-up in the area close to Mohmand Agency.

“We inform the people of Mohmand Agency that the (outlawed) Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has attacked Islam and Pakistan by killing innocent Muslims. The TTP has [hurt the cause of] Islam more than ever before,” the Urdu language pamphlet read.

Taliban hideouts: Security forces continued pounding suspected Taliban hideouts in the Shnow Ghundo, Spray, Juma Khan Koroona, Kas Koroona and Mullah Ghani Baba areas in Machni, officials said. Details of Taliban casualties were not available.

Responsibility: Also on Thursday, Taliban in Machni claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s suicide attack on a security forces camp in Charsadda district. “We have carried out the attack to avenge killing of innocent people by the military,” Abid Khair Khwahee, purported spokesman for the Taliban in Machni area, told reporters by telephone. The Shabqadar Bazaar in Charsadda district was closed on Thursday and the Peshawar-Ghalanai highway remained closed for traffic.

Arrested: Security forces arrested six suspected Taliban in Kashmir Koor in a raid on a house in Haleemzai tehsil and nine suspects from Machni.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

Pakistan targets militants in 2nd tribal area​

By ASIF SHAHZAD – 32 minutes ago

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani helicopter gunships engaged in a bitter offensive against militants in a northwest tribal region struck targets in a neighboring area Sunday, a sign that the conflict may be widening to other parts of the rugged zone bordering Afghanistan.

Elsewhere in the northwest, Pakistan temporarily suspended oil tankers and trucks carrying sealed containers from using the Khyber Pass, a move that put pressure on a vital supply line for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The media center for the paramilitary Frontier Corps confirmed Sunday that helicopter gunships, backed by artillery, have been pounding suspected insurgent hideouts in Mohmand tribal area since Saturday.

Mohmand is south of Bajur tribal region, an al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold where the military says a three-month-old offensive has killed more than 1,600 suspected militants.

Speculation has abounded that upon taking control of Bajur, the military would set its sights on Mohmand.

The U.S. has praised Pakistani military offensives against insurgents — a separate one is underway in the northwest's Swat Valley — saying they have helped reduce violence on the Afghan side of the border. American officials have long blamed militants based in Pakistan for planning attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

An official with the media center, who insisted on anonymity in line with military rules, said the strikes were not part of a separate offensive for Mohmand. He would not specify where in Mohmand the aircraft had attacked.

"It is the same operation. There is no new operation," the official said. The Taliban fighters "had substantial casualties."

He did not rule out the possibility of militants leaving Bajur for Mohmand, but added, "Wherever they are, wherever they have strong pockets, we have to and we will flush them out."

The suspension of specific vehicles along the Khyber Pass comes just days after a band of militants hijacked around a dozen trucks whose load included Humvees intended for foreign forces in Afghanistan.

The hijacking near the entrance of the famed pass highlighted the vulnerability of a critical supply line for the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan, whose materials are regularly shipped through Pakistan in unmarked, sealed containers.

Government official Bakhtiar Khan would not say Sunday if trucks destined for American and NATO forces were the target of the suspension imposed late Saturday. However, he said security concerns had prompted the suspension, but that it could be lifted as early as Monday.

"The suspension was made to review the security arrangements and that has already been done," he said. "Along with increasing the security and establishing more checkpoints, we have issued orders to deal with attackers and snatchers more strictly."

Khan said security forces have been told they can fire upon groups of armed men trying to attack or snatch shipments.

Deteriorating security conditions in the northwest are among myriad problems facing U.S.-allied Pakistan. The South Asian nation also is saddled with a sinking economy, and it is taking steps to borrow $7.6 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar.

 

[Neo]

Pakistan urges US to provide equipment to deal with terrorists​

* Pakistan embassy says president’s visit to New York low-cost, with ‘very good yield’​

NEW YORK: Pakistan has urged the United States to provide the equipment needed to fight terrorists operating along the Pak-Afghan border, a Pakistan embassy spokesman said on Saturday.

A better-equipped Pakistan would be able to deal with the insurgents on its own, he said, while responding to questions about unilateral US raids from across the Afghan border.

Briefing reporters at the end of President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit here, the spokesman said the desired objectives in both bilateral and multilateral fields had been accomplished.

Visit: “It was a low-cost visit, with a very good yield,” he said.

The president arrived here on Tuesday to lead the Pakistani delegation to the United Nations General Assembly meeting on the ‘Culture of Peace’.

The spokesman said the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were now friendly and cordial, with the blessings of King Abdullah who was playing a key role in helping stabilise the situation in Afghanistan.

Asked whether Central Intelligence Agency chief Michael Hayden had met the president, as was being reported, the spokesman said he would not comment on such matters. But he said there was good co-operation between Pakistan and the US on intelligence-sharing and that contacts did take place from time to time in this regard.

Responding to questions, the spokesman said that Pakistan expected to have good relations with the incoming Obama administration, saying “We have good friends in the new administration.” He cited president-elect Obama and vice president-elect Joseph Biden as friends of Pakistan as they had made efforts for the restoration of democracy in the country. app

 

[eva syed]

how we'll wash the blood of these innocent people from our hands.........our own people.........

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Al Jazeera segment on a trip to N Waziristan:

 

[dr.umer]

NATO fires artiller at insurgents in Pakistan​

Nov 18, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan fired 20 artillery rounds at insurgents inside Pakistan after coordinating with Islamabad, officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, five Afghan troops were killed in a clash with insurgents in the west.

The military alliance said it fired the rounds after insurgents attacked its troops in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province with rockets from across the border on Sunday.

"The artillery fire caused a secondary explosion at the rocket launch site, which indicates additional munitions in the location," the NATO statement said.

The Pakistani military confirmed the two sides coordinated in an attack on insurgents in Pakistan but provided no other details.

Officials say relations between NATO-led troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan's military are improving.

However, Pakistan has been complaining about unilateral missile strikes conducted by U.S. forces into its tribal areas. Pakistani officials say the U.S. strikes violate their country's sovereignty.

Separately, insurgents in the western Farah province ambushed an Afghan army supply convoy, killing five troops and wounding five others, said Gen. Fazludin Sayar, the army commander for the western region.

Sayar said five insurgents also died in the clash in Farah's Bala Buluk region on Monday.

Insurgent attacks in Afghanistan are up 30 percent from 2007, military officials say. A tally of official figures provided to The Associated Press show that more than 5,400 people have died in insurgency-related violence this year. Most of the casualties are suspected militants.

 

[dr.umer]

Pakistan backed raid, says Nato ​

18 November 2008

Nato-led troops in Afghanistan say they carried out an attack on an "enemy position" in Pakistan on Sunday with the help of Pakistani security forces.

The International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said in a statement that it carried out the attack after one of its Afghan bases came under attack.

Isaf said there were no casualties in the attack on its base.

Correspondents say it is rare for Isaf to acknowledge such cooperation. Pakistan has not commented.

'Artillery rounds'

A statement by Isaf said that its base in Afghanistan's south-eastern Paktika province was hit by rocket attacks from a "location within Pakistan" on Sunday.

The Nato-led forces said they were able to "identify the origin of the enemy rocket launches". The location has not been disclosed.

"Upon positive identification, Isaf coordinated with the Pakistan military and fired a total of 20 artillery rounds on the enemy location," said the statement.

"The artillery fire caused a secondary explosion at the rocket launch site, which indicates additional munitions in the location."

Isaf said that the Pakistani soldiers had given an assurance they "would engage any insurgents attempting to flee deeper in Afghanistan".

Though Pakistan has not officially reacted to the statement, a senior Pakistani army official told the BBC that "some level of ground coordination" did take place.

He said the attack by the Isaf forces took place in Angoor Adda in the South Waziristan tribal region.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Peshawar says such acknowledgement by foreign forces has often embarrassed Pakistan because it would not like to be seen to be cooperating with Western forces against Pakistani people.

The US and Nato have called on Pakistan to do more to curb militants operating in the border area.

 

[Imran Khan]

NWFP govt asks Taliban to lay down arms for talks

By Daud Khattak

PESHAWAR: The NWFP government on Tuesday set laying down of weapons as the foremost condition for peace talks with the Swat-based Taliban, official sources told Daily Times.

The condition was presented before members of a Kanjoo Peace Jirga, who met members of the NWFP Assembly from Swat district at the Frontier House to discuss a possible truce in the valley.

The peace jirga, led by Inamur Rehman, informed the MPAs that the Taliban were ready for ‘unconditional’ talks with the government and that their chief [Fazlullah] would abide by the decisions of the jirga, the sources said.

The meeting between the jirga and the members of the provincial assembly, which was also attended by Awami National Party’s (ANP) provincial President Afrasiab Khattak, was the third in the last few weeks. Environment Minister Wajid Ali Khan, Science and Technology Minister Ayub Ashari, MPAs Sher Shah, Jafar Shah, Dr Haider Ali, Waqar Ahmad Khan and Shamsher Khan were present.

The sources said the NWFP government asked jirga members to ensure that the Taliban do not violate the peace agreement, if it were ever reached in the future. “We are apprehensive, because the May 21 agreement signed with the Taliban was broken by those in Waziristan,” said a senior government official.

A 15-point agreement reached in May between the Taliban in Swat and the NWFP government was set aside following threats by the so-called Waziristan-based chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Baitullah Mehsud.

“Talks will not be initiated unless the jirga assures the government that the Taliban will lay down arms and abide by any decision taken by the jirga consisting of MPAs from Swat and members of the Swat-based Kanjoo Peace Jirga,” said the official. The Kanjoo jirga held talks with Taliban leader Fazlullah at an undisclosed location in Swat three days ago and obtained his consent to abide by the jirga’s decisions, said another source.

 

[Imran Khan]

Afghan attacks down after FATA actions’

* Mullen acknowledges tribal engagement has had impact
* ISPR denies Pak-US militaries launching co-ordinated operation

WASHINGTON: The strategy of tribal engagement has great significance in the long-term solution of the Afghan-Pakistan border security challenges, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen has said.

APP reported that the top US military officer acknowledged at a Pentagon briefing that Pakistan’s own anti-terrorism actions, launched in Bajaur under the elected democratic government, have had significant impact on curbing cross-border militancy in that part of the area. “I think the engagement of tribal leaders is very important and – across the board, with respect to Afghanistan. And I think that’s also the case as well in Pakistan, over the long term, in terms of how this challenge that we have, particularly in the – on the border, is eventually resolved.

“And so I think having a strategy which includes tribal engagement is a very important part,” he stated.

He did not touch the issue of unilateral actions in Pakistan in response to reporters’ questions.

“General (Ashfaq Parvez) Kayani has a military which has also got an operational tempo challenge, to move his brigades routinely into the FATA. He’s essentially executing a plan that he’s laid out, and I’m very supportive of that, and encouraged but what — by what I see as a result.”

Operation: Meanwhile, AFP reported the US military has launched a co-ordinated operation with Pakistani forces to put pressure on Taliban and Al Qaeda on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, a US military commander said on Tuesday. Dubbed ‘Operation Lionheart’, the operation takes co-operation between US, Afghan and Pakistani forces to ‘the next level’ in terms of intelligence sharing and co-ordination, Colonel John Spiszer said.

“We are in co-ordination on a daily basis with the Frontier Corps,” said Spiszer, who commands the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade.

Spiszer said his troops were working along the Kunar River valley and up into the mountain passes along the border to intercept and ambush Taliban trying to escape from Pakistani operations in Bajaur Agency. Reuters reported Spiszer as saying the offensive in Bajaur was pushing Taliban across the border into Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately, or fortunately in some ways, the Pakistan military is doing operations that really ultimately are in some ways designed to drive (militants) out of Pakistan,” Spiszer said. However, according to a private channel, the Pakistan military denied that it was engaged in any joint operation with the US-led coalition forces. agencies/daily times monitor

 

[Imran Khan]

Afghan attacks down after FATA actions’

* Mullen acknowledges tribal engagement has had impact
* ISPR denies Pak-US militaries launching co-ordinated operation

WASHINGTON: The strategy of tribal engagement has great significance in the long-term solution of the Afghan-Pakistan border security challenges, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen has said.

APP reported that the top US military officer acknowledged at a Pentagon briefing that Pakistan’s own anti-terrorism actions, launched in Bajaur under the elected democratic government, have had significant impact on curbing cross-border militancy in that part of the area. “I think the engagement of tribal leaders is very important and – across the board, with respect to Afghanistan. And I think that’s also the case as well in Pakistan, over the long term, in terms of how this challenge that we have, particularly in the – on the border, is eventually resolved.

“And so I think having a strategy which includes tribal engagement is a very important part,” he stated.

He did not touch the issue of unilateral actions in Pakistan in response to reporters’ questions.

“General (Ashfaq Parvez) Kayani has a military which has also got an operational tempo challenge, to move his brigades routinely into the FATA. He’s essentially executing a plan that he’s laid out, and I’m very supportive of that, and encouraged but what — by what I see as a result.”

Operation: Meanwhile, AFP reported the US military has launched a co-ordinated operation with Pakistani forces to put pressure on Taliban and Al Qaeda on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, a US military commander said on Tuesday. Dubbed ‘Operation Lionheart’, the operation takes co-operation between US, Afghan and Pakistani forces to ‘the next level’ in terms of intelligence sharing and co-ordination, Colonel John Spiszer said.

“We are in co-ordination on a daily basis with the Frontier Corps,” said Spiszer, who commands the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade.

Spiszer said his troops were working along the Kunar River valley and up into the mountain passes along the border to intercept and ambush Taliban trying to escape from Pakistani operations in Bajaur Agency. Reuters reported Spiszer as saying the offensive in Bajaur was pushing Taliban across the border into Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately, or fortunately in some ways, the Pakistan military is doing operations that really ultimately are in some ways designed to drive (militants) out of Pakistan,” Spiszer said. However, according to a private channel, the Pakistan military denied that it was engaged in any joint operation with the US-led coalition forces. agencies/daily times monitor

 

[Imran Khan]

Taliban vow not to attack armyPESHAWAR: The Ahmedzai Wazir tribe on Tuesday secured a fresh ‘assurance’ from senior Taliban commanders that they would not target the army in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) in response to US drone attacks against Al Qaeda there, tribal elders said.

The assurance comes after a November 2 suicide attack on Zalai Fort housing security forces near the Afghan border. The fort was apparently attacked to avenge an October 31 US drone attack in Dough near Wana that targeted Taliban chief Maulvi Nazir. “We have been assured by the Taliban that they would not target security forces in case they (the Taliban) are attacked by US drones,” an elder who was part of a meeting between the Taliban commanders and tribal elders in Wana last week told Daily Times on condition of anonymity.

Nazir did not turn up for the meeting as he had ‘gone underground’. iqbal khattak

 

[Imran Khan]

Taliban vow not to attack armyPESHAWAR: The Ahmedzai Wazir tribe on Tuesday secured a fresh ‘assurance’ from senior Taliban commanders that they would not target the army in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) in response to US drone attacks against Al Qaeda there, tribal elders said.

The assurance comes after a November 2 suicide attack on Zalai Fort housing security forces near the Afghan border. The fort was apparently attacked to avenge an October 31 US drone attack in Dough near Wana that targeted Taliban chief Maulvi Nazir. “We have been assured by the Taliban that they would not target security forces in case they (the Taliban) are attacked by US drones,” an elder who was part of a meeting between the Taliban commanders and tribal elders in Wana last week told Daily Times on condition of anonymity.

Nazir did not turn up for the meeting as he had ‘gone underground’. iqbal khattak

 

[dr.umer]

Missile fired by US drone kills five in Bannu​

19 Nov 2008

PESHAWAR: At least five people were killed and five others wounded when a missile fired by unmanned U.S. drone hit a house in remote area of Bannu on Wednesday.

According to sources, unmanned US drones fired a missile at the house of one Dilbar in Janikhel area of FR Bannu at 3:30am on Wednesday, killing five people and injuring five others.

Sources said that airstrike was carried out over presence of foreign fighters in the house.

The five people killed in the attack are reportedly nationals of Turkmenistan.

 

[Pk_Thunder]

How to end the conflict in FATA
Random thoughts

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Dr A Q Khan

No matter what one is thinking or what one is reading, one's thoughts automatically focus on the ongoing "terrorism" and the law and order situation. After an attack, in which dozens die and are injured, the president and prime minister strongly condemn it, and announce compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured. And then the matter is closed and we wait for the next tragedy.

My advice to those in power is to try to find an amicable solution of mutual respect to the ongoing conflict in the tribal areas. Quite a large number of us have seen British rule. We remember how an entire area was administered by a commissioner, a deputy commissioner and two or three police officers. The older generation still enthusiastically recalls the peace of that golden period. I still remember that in Bhopal the police station was run by a head constable and the city by an inspector, known as kotwal. There was only one British police officer, the inspector-general, and he took care of the whole state and there was never any law and order problem. The secret to this was that locals were always employed and posted to their own areas.

In Pakistan the whole system is topsy-turvy. A police officer from NWFP is posted to Karachi, someone from Karachi is posted to Lahore or Quetta, and so on. How can he know the customs and mentality of the local people? He just passes time, tries to make some money and waits for his next posting. And that is perhaps why many heinous crimes are never solved in this country – such as the assassinations of Liaquat Ali Khan, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, Gen Ziaul Haq, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and various suicide bombings.

Whatever action the government has taken so far in the tribal areas has proved counter-productive. It has sown the seeds of hatred and could very well lead to the country's disintegration. Creating division between tribes by bribing some corrupt leaders is tantamount to following a foreign agenda.

How has it become possible to launch air attacks using helicopter gunships, jet fighters and heavy guns against our own people? This whole problem started after Gen Musharraf chose to join President Bush in his 'war on terror' after 9/11. By doing that he effectively stabbed the Pakhtuns in the back, eventually allowing the Americans to play havoc in the tribal areas. Fuel was added to the fire when Gen Musharraf's mercenaries attacked Lal Masjid and mercilessly burned to death hundreds of small children mostly girls – many of them from Pathan families. The result was retaliation with a vengeance never seen in Pakistan before. The Americans were forced to flee in disgrace from Vietnam, the Russians had to leave Afghanistan and the western allied forces are being humiliated in Afghanistan and will, in all probability, retreat. However, the wounds inflicted on our own people by Gen Musharraf and his stooges will not go unanswered.

Having said that, quite a few people are giving sincere advice. Some patriotic Pathans are trying their best to put some wisdom into the heads of the rulers. It is the need of the hour to immediately set up a committee of people like Rustam Shah Mohmand, Brig Mahmood Shah, Kamran Khan, Khalid Aziz, Amir Usman, Barrister Zahid Saeed, Prof Dr M Yousuf Bangash, former governors Ali Jan Orakzai and M Arif Bangash, Governor Owais Ghani, Rahimullah Yusufzai, Hamidullah Jan Afridi and others. These knowledgeable and sincere people could come up with a viable solution within two weeks and save the country from further disastrous consequences and possible disintegration, all being engineered by America and its cronies.

The reason why I mentioned my Bhopal story is that a president from Naudero, a prime minister from Multan, an interior adviser from Sialkot and an army chief from Gujjar Khan are not in a position to understand the psychology of the Pathans. A Pathan will give his life for you if you love and respect him, but he will take your life if you insult him and push him to the wall. The president, the prime minister and the army chief are all intelligent people and I hope they would appreciate my suggestion ad will talk to the knowledgeable people I have mentioned, so that our beloved country can get out of its quagmire. If those at the helm of affairs shut their eyes, naturally they won't see the writing on the wall.

That reminds me of the great and wise Nizamul Tusi, primer minister of Seljuk sultan Jalaluddin Malik Shah. He was a contemporary of the great mathematician, astronomer and poet Omar Khayyam and the notorious Hasan bin Sabbah, widely known for the fake paradise and his ruthless assassins. Nizamul Tusi told his colleagues and assistants: "Consultation with people of understanding is a sign of wisdom and maturity because some of them might know more than you do and could give you valuable advice." Our political leadership needs to follow this advice and seek counsel from the wise Pathans mentioned above. We should not put the interests of the Afghans before our own national interests, not least because they have been bitter enemies of Pakistan from day one.

Due to Gen Musharraf's blind support to the Americans, which totally ignored Pakistan's national interests, the country is facing serious problems. In this context, one cannot ignore the irony that those whom the people gave a resounding mandate have so far failed to act on it. Our heads should hang in shame at the thought that our beautiful country, despite having vast natural resources and being a nuclear and missile power, has become a banana republic with Islamabad no longer a safe city. Foreign missions have already started sending families of their staff back home or have relocated them to other countries. The International School of Islamabad has lost more than a quarter of its student body and Islamabad wears a deserted look. The Presidency, Parliament and the Prime Minister House are all under siege and it almost feels like being under occupation of a foreign power with movements restricted. We should be wary of rejoicing at the number of "terrorists" killed because we might end up counting our own dead and prisoners, as happened in East Pakistan.

If we look back in history we will find that any Muslim nation that joined hands with a western country ended up humiliating itself or disintegrating. Despite 50 years of rhetoric by western leaders, there is no Palestinian state. The problems being faced in Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia, East Timor and the creation of Lebanon by breaking up Syria are indicative of western intrigues and interference. And the reason for this is that Muslims have been at the receiving end of this disgrace because they ignored Allah's edict that Christians and Jews can never be their true friends.

When I became adviser to the government of Pakistan, I sent a simple, pragmatic proposal to Gen Musharraf suggesting how the tribal areas could be brought into the mainstream and how extremism could be largely eliminated. The suggestion was to establish a large number of vocational schools with hostel facilities at reasonably close locations. All those studying at such institutes would be paid a monthly stipend of about Rs500 and the coursework would also include religious and other basic education. With such incentives, people would send their children to these schools rather than allow them to come under the influence of extremist forces.

That way the madressahs would not get candidates for future suicide bombers and/or terrorists. Such a programme could have been up and running within two years. Had some action been taken, we would have reaped some of the benefits now and would not have seen such a tragic episode as Lal Masjid. I would have loved to implement such a programme with the help of friends and other well-wishers.

There is much more to say and I would like to go on talking about these painful events and situations, but will stop in accordance with the couplet by the famous Urdu poet, Sauda, who wrote:

Sauda, Khuda ke wastey ker quissa mukhtasar,

Mere to kaan pak gaey tere fasane men.

 

[ejaz007]

Rifts surface in Tehreek-e-Taliban
Staff Report

PESHAWAR: A commander loyal to slain Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud said on Thursday that Baitullah Mehsud – chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – is “misusing Islam to prolong his terror reign”, and branded the TTP chief’s activities ‘militancy’.

The commander – Qari Zainuddin Mehsud – is little known, and only a few have previously heard his name. According to pamphlets written in Urdu and distributed in Tank city on Thursday, Zainuddin Mehsud – chief of the Abdullah Mehsud group – has also charged Baitullah with the killings of ‘jihadi leaders’.

Qari Zainuddin parted ways with Baitullah following Abdullah’s killing in July 2007 in Balochistan’s Zhob district, and both sides killed each other’s men.

The sources claimed the TTP was suffering from internal bickering that had been made public by the distribution of the pamphlets.

“All that Baitullah is doing in the name of Islam is not Islamic … this is militancy,” the pamphlets read.

The pamphlets also urge clerics to speak out against Baitullah.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan